An artist from South Croydon, Nadeem Din-Gabisi, has today been announced as the winner of the London Fields Brewery bursary scheme.

Winner: Nadeem Din-Gabisi

The scheme aims to “support artists pushing the boundaries of established practice”, and Din-Gabisi will now have a year-long residency with a semi-private studio space at Somerset House Studios in central London.

Din-Gabisi, 26, describes himself as an artist, writer, painter, poet, musician and filmmaker. He recently completed a Masters in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, having previously attended Wimbledon College of Art.

During his residency at Somerset House, Nadeem will be working on a multimedia project called Pool, which examines a childhood marked by life-changing moments of trauma and happiness.

The grand, neo-Classical Somerset House, on the south side of the Strand and overlooking the River Thames, has been transformed in the past 20 years from government offices, storing millions of Registry Office records, into an arts and culture venue, including a large community of creative businesses, artists and makers in Somerset House Studios, which receives around 3 million visitors per year, and where Din-Gabisi will enjoy the 12-month residency.

Din-Gabisi’s work includes live poetry readings

Din-Gabisi’s work is truly multimedia, since he has also studied film and radio broadcasting; he hosts a monthly radio show on NTS Radio and performs music regularly as part of Steam Down.

He has a been a youth and play worker for many years, which also informs his work.

During the residency at Somerset House Studios, his Pool project will look at the mental health issues and coping mechanisms of many young black men in London, “questioning why some swim, why some sink and others don’t even enter the pool”.